Some links may be affiliate links. I may earn money if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these links on this site.

Rob Knowlan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Hello December 2022

Here we are in the last “-ber” month in this gloriously celebratory 4th Quarter. I’m running out of Mondays a bit quicker than I’d like, but nothing lasts forever. It’s rarity that makes something valuable, after all…

Roses 🐺 in 🌹 December

God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December. ~James M. Barrie

Fortunately, I don’t need memories to have Rose in December. She’s right here.

Is there anything more fun than a silly little dog to lighten your days?

She’s got such a sweet disposition, except for all of those people walking around outside.

She takes a great deal of personal satisfaction rebuking the interlopers who have the temerity to walk by her window.

Apart from that, she’s nothing but pure, joyous love. Isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

She certainly enjoyed her visit to the Outer Banks!

Her favorite thing was clearly all the walks on the beach in the windy, windy wind.

It looked like she was in a wind tunnel the whole time she was walking the beach. It was brilliant.

The only thing she likes better than walking on a windy beach is being with her Mama.

Rose is unashamedly a mama-baby, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

If your whole job in life is to be a walking, barking embodiment of love, it’s only natural you’d pick somebody to lavish all that love on.

It’s easy to see that Rose has Christmas spirit the whole year ’round.

Her job is to be cute and lovey, and she does it well.

Is it any wonder we love to spoil her? Just look at that shaggy little face!

That’s my Pocket 🐺 Wolf, my Rose 🌹 in ❄️ December

My Favorite Christmas Song

Carol of The Bells | 1 HOUR EPIC VERSION (Attack on Titan Style)

Of all the songs in the entire yuletide canon, I’d have to say that the Carol of the Bells is definitely my favorite. Even a preposterously over-dramatic version like this☝🏿 one still qualifies.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t listen to the entire hour. It’s looped pretty seamlessly, but you can tell when it repeats.

I like most Christmas music, with a few notable exceptions that I won’t go into. I believe I’ve already mentioned them in previous years.

In keeping with my Disney+ miniseries geeking out, I have been watching the Santa Clauses. It’s fun, but I’m not feeling a need to really gush about it.

Gut instinct tells me that the daughter is going to wind up getting the job. There will likely be some feigned drama about never having had a female Santa before, but she’s the obvious candidate. Guess we’ll see what happens.

I will say that it was a treat to see them introduce Befana in the series. I actually hope that the relationship that she has with Befana doesn’t suggest that she’s going to take over as Befana and that her brother will become Santa after he gets traumatized by the “real world”.

Sure, I know that gender-flipping characters is annoyingly woke and substantially overdone, but I think it’s appropriate in this case. The kid’s name is Sandra. Sandy Claus? C’mon… #SpoilerAlert

Conflict Cannot Survive

Conflict cannot survive without your participation. ~Wayne Dyer

Well, of course not, don’t be ridiculous… I’m the author! Nothing in the story can survive without my participation.

In a story like The Sentinels, it’s easy to maintain conflict because superheroes always have some evildoers to throw down with.

With a romance like Merry 🔔 Bells, the problem is that Meredith and Toby are very nice people. The “Meet Cute” went reasonably well.

The conflict they both have is with themselves rather than with each other. Honestly, that’s a harder kind of conflict to maintain dramatically.

Fortunately, I’m nearly at the midpoint of the story, so it’s time for them to start having some breakthroughs on their issues.

Unfortunately, the “Second Pinch Point” is not far behind. That’s usually when something villainous happens. I haven’t decided what that is yet.

Since the leads are such Sentinels ultra-fans, it would actually be sort of funny if theirs was the first Holiday Season Serial Romance that didn’t require actual intervention from a superhero.